U.S. patent application number 13/327893 was filed with the patent office on 2013-06-20 for photo-electrochromic window tinter.
This patent application is currently assigned to CONTINENTAL AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS, INC.. The applicant listed for this patent is Jerremy H. Anderson, William E. McIntyre, JR., Tod R. Whitmore. Invention is credited to Jerremy H. Anderson, William E. McIntyre, JR., Tod R. Whitmore.
Application Number | 20130158790 13/327893 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 45876201 |
Filed Date | 2013-06-20 |
United States Patent
Application |
20130158790 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
McIntyre, JR.; William E. ;
et al. |
June 20, 2013 |
PHOTO-ELECTROCHROMIC WINDOW TINTER
Abstract
An electrically-adjustable light transmitter changes its light
transmissivity responsive to an electric signal. By applying the
electrically-adjustable light transmitter to a window and
thereafter changing the electric signal to it, a window can be
tinted and un-tinted. Jurisdictions that prohibit tinted vehicle
windows are listed in a data base. A current location determined by
a GPS is compared to data base entries. If the location is within
an area where tinted windows are prohibited, a controller
automatically un-tints the windows, or reduces the window tint to
comply with applicable local laws.
Inventors: |
McIntyre, JR.; William E.;
(Walworth, WI) ; Anderson; Jerremy H.; (Arlington
Heights, IL) ; Whitmore; Tod R.; (River Forest,
IL) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
McIntyre, JR.; William E.
Anderson; Jerremy H.
Whitmore; Tod R. |
Walworth
Arlington Heights
River Forest |
WI
IL
IL |
US
US
US |
|
|
Assignee: |
CONTINENTAL AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS,
INC.
Deer Park
IL
|
Family ID: |
45876201 |
Appl. No.: |
13/327893 |
Filed: |
December 16, 2011 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
701/36 ;
250/214AL; 359/275; 701/408; 701/468 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G02F 1/163 20130101;
B60J 3/04 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
701/36 ; 359/275;
250/214.AL; 701/408; 701/468 |
International
Class: |
G06F 7/00 20060101
G06F007/00; G01J 1/44 20060101 G01J001/44; G01C 21/26 20060101
G01C021/26; G02F 1/163 20060101 G02F001/163 |
Claims
1. A window comprising: a. an electrically-adjustable light
transmitter configured to change a light transmissivity responsive
to an electric signal, the signal provided to the
electrically-adjustable light transmitter being responsive to a
geographic location; and b. a controller coupled to the
electrically-adjustable light transmitter and configured to control
electric charge provided to the electrically-adjustable light
transmitter, responsive to the geographic location.
2. The window of claim 1, wherein the electrically-adjustable light
transmitter is an electrochromic device.
3. The window of claim 1, further comprising: a. navigation system,
configured to provide the determined geographic location to the
controller.
4. The window of claim 2, wherein the navigation system is a
satellite positioning system.
5. The window of claim 2, wherein the navigation system is
configured to determine location by triangulation of received radio
frequency signals.
6. The window of claim 1, further comprising: a. a data base of
window tinting rules, the data base being accessible to the
controller.
7. The window of claim 1, further comprising: a. wherein the
controller is configured to: i. obtain a location from the
navigation system; ii. locate a rule in the data base, governing
window tinting for the geographic location obtained from the
navigation system; and iii. adjust the source of electric charge
provided to the electrically-adjustable light transmitter,
responsive to the identified rule such that the transmissivity of
the electrically-adjustable light transmitter effectuates a window
tinting that is at least substantially compliant with the located
rule.
8. The window of claim 1, further comprising: a. photo sensor
coupled to the controller and configured to determine an ambient
light level; and b. wherein the controller is configured to i.
adjust the source of electric charge provided to the
electrically-adjustable light transmitter, responsive to the
determined ambient light level.
9. The window of claim 1, further comprising: a. temperature sensor
coupled to the controller and configured to determine an ambient
temperature; and b. wherein the controller is configured to adjust
the source of electric charge provided to the
electrically-adjustable light transmitter, responsive to the
ambient temperature.
10. The window of claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to
receive a user input signal and adjust the source of electric
charge responsive to the received input.
11. A geographic location-responsive tinting window comprising: a.
navigation system, configured to determine a geographic location;
b. a controller coupled to the navigation system; c. an
electrically-adjustable light transmitter configured to change a
light transmissivity responsive to an electric signal received from
the controller, the signal provided to the electrically-adjustable
light transmitter being responsive to a geographic location
received by the controller; and d. a data base of window tinting
rules for a plurality of jurisdictions, the data base being
accessible to the controller; wherein the controller is configured
to receive a location from the navigation system, determine whether
the location is within a jurisdiction having a window tinting rule,
and, if a window tinting rule for the jurisdiction is located in
the data base, adjust the electric signal provided to the
electrically-adjustable light transmitter responsive to the window
tinting rule for the jurisdiction.
12. The window of claim 11, wherein the electrically-adjustable
light transmitter is an electrochromic device.
13. The window of claim 11, wherein the navigation system is a
satellite positioning system.
14. The window of claim 11, wherein the navigation system is
configured to determine location by triangulation of received radio
frequency signals.
15. The window of claim 11, wherein the controller is configured to
receive a user input signal and, adjust the source of electric
charge responsive to the received input.
16. The window of claim 11, further comprising: a. photo sensor
coupled to the controller and configured to determine an ambient
light level; and b. wherein the controller is configured to i.
adjust the source of electric charge provided to the
electrically-adjustable light transmitter, responsive to the
ambient light level.
17. A method of adjusting a window tint responsive to a geographic
location, the method comprising: a. obtaining a geographic
location; b. providing a first electrical signal to an
electrically-adjustable light transmitter, which is configured to
change a light transmissivity responsive to the provided electric
signal, the electrical signal being received from a controller,
which receives data corresponding to the geographic location; c.
obtaining a window tinting rule, from a data base of window tinting
rules for a plurality of jurisdictions, the data base being
accessible to the controller.
18. The method of claim 17, wherein the step of providing an
electrical signal is comprised of providing an electrical signal to
an electrochromic device.
19. The method of claim 17, wherein the step of obtaining a
geographic location is comprised of at least one of: a. receiving
the location from a satellite positioning system; and b.
triangulation of received radio frequency signals.
20. The method of claim 17, further comprising the step of: a.
providing a second electrical signal to the electrically-adjustable
light transmitter, responsive to an input to the controller by a
user.
21. The window of claim 17, further comprising the steps of a.
receiving a signal from a photo sensor and which corresponds to an
ambient light level measured by the photo sensor; and b. adjusting
the source of electric charge provided to the
electrically-adjustable light transmitter, responsive to the signal
from the photo sensor.
22. An electrically-driven vehicle comprising: a. an
electrically-adjustable light transmitter configured to change a
light transmissivity responsive to an electric signal, the signal
provided to the electrically-adjustable light transmitter being
responsive to a geographic location; and b. a controller coupled to
the electrically-adjustable light transmitter and configured to
control electric charge provided to the electrically-adjustable
light transmitter.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] Tinted vehicle windows are well known to reduce solar
heating of a vehicle. Since they reduce the amount of ultraviolet
and infrared that enters a vehicle's interior they also tend to
protect the materials from which dashboards and interior surfaces
are made. Unfortunately, window tinting can obscure or reduce a
driver's ability to see and they are known by law enforcement to
conceal the interior of a vehicle. Some states, counties, and
municipalities prohibit tinted windows of any kind while other
jurisdictions specify or define the maximum tinting or opacity that
vehicle window glass can have. If a vehicle owner applies window
tinting to a vehicle that is permitted by local ordinances but
prohibited by the ordinances of surrounding jurisdictions, the
vehicle owner risks being cited by law enforcement agencies in
jurisdictions where vehicle window tinting is prohibited.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0002] FIG. 1 depicts a motor vehicle with tinted windows leaving a
jurisdiction where such windows are legal and entering a second
jurisdiction where they are prohibited;
[0003] FIGS. 2A and 2B depict an electrically-adjustable light
transmitter, which can be applied to window glass;
[0004] FIG. 3 depicts a block diagram of a geographic
location-responsive window tinting system;
[0005] FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method of adjusting a window tint
responsive to a geographic location; and
[0006] FIG. 5 depicts the use of an electrically-controllable
window tinting mechanism in an all-electric vehicle.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0007] FIG. 1 is a graphical depiction of a motor vehicle 100
having tinted windows 102 in a first jurisdiction 104, and which is
about to cross a boundary line 106 into a second jurisdiction 108.
Tinted windows are lawful in the first jurisdiction 104; they are
prohibited in the second jurisdiction 108. Prior art window tinting
methods make it impractical or even impossible to tint and un-tint
windows to provide the beneficial effects of tinted windows 102
where they are not prohibited yet avoid running afoul of state or
local laws that prohibit them.
[0008] FIGS. 2A and 2B are cross-sections of an
electrically-adjustable light transmitter commonly known as an
electrochromic device 200. It is comprised of layers, which can be
conformably attached to either side of a sheet of glass, or
sandwiched between two layers as depicted in FIGS. 2A and 2B.
[0009] The structure in FIGS. 2A and 2B is comprised of two glass
panels. The layers sandwiched between them provide an
electrically-adjustable transmissivity or "tint." A control voltage
applied to an elecrochromic layer determines the amount of light
that can pass through it.
[0010] An outside glass panel 204 has first and second opposing
surfaces 208 and 210. An optically transparent conductor layer 206
is applied to the inside surface 208 of the outside panel 204.
[0011] An electrochromic layer 212 is applied over the transparent
conductor layer 206. The electrochromic layer 212 is characterized
by its ability to pass or block visible light responsive to the
application or absence of a voltage. Stated another way, the
electrochromic layer will block light when an electric potential is
applied across the layer
[0012] An electrolyte/ionic conductor layer 214 is applied over the
electrochromic layer 212. An ion storage layer 216 is applied over
the electrolyte/ionic conductor layer 214. A second transparent
conductor layer 218 is then applied over the ion storage layer 216.
The interior layers 206-218 are then sandwiched by a second glass
panel 220 which faces the interior of the vehicle. It is important
to note that the location of the electrochomic layer 212 relative
to the electrolyte/ionic conductor layer 214 can be reversed and
the device 200 kept operable. A depiction of such an alternate
embodiment, i.e., wherein the location of layers 214 and 216 are
interchanged with each other, is omitted for brevity.
[0013] An electric energy source 222 can be selectively applied to
and removed from the two conductors 206 and 218 by a conventional
switch mechanism 222. In another embodiment, the strength of the
field and/or the amount of current passing through the layer 212
can be controlled by a conventional voltage source or current
source respectively.
[0014] In FIG. 2A, the electrochromic device is not energized.
Light rays 226 are thus free to pass through the electrochromic
layer.
[0015] FIG. 2B depicts the electrochromic device in an energized
state. A voltage is applied to the electrochromic layer by the
closure of a conventional switch 224. While light 226 passes
through the outside panel 204 and the first conductor layer 206,
light is blocked by the biased electrochromic layer 212. The
opacity and the tint of the device 200 can thus be electrically
adjusted by an electric signal or voltage applied to the
electrochromic layer.
[0016] FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a photo-electrochromic window
tinter, also referred to herein as an electrically-operable window
tinting system 300. The system 300 is comprised of an
electrochromic device 200, such as the one depicted in FIG. 2. A
stored program controller 302 provides a control voltage 304 to the
electrochromic device 200 responsive to program instructions stored
in an associated memory device 306 and various events and
conditions detected by various sensors attached to the controller
302. The controller 302 is coupled to the various sensors via a
conventional input/output (I/O) bus 310. The controller 302 and the
memory device 306 are coupled to each other via a conventional
memory bus.
[0017] The controller is depicted as being coupled to a separate
memory device 314 that holds a window tinting rules database 314.
The database 314 is a list of geographic areas, each of which is
defined by latitude and longitudinal coordinates, inside of which,
there is at least one statute or law, rule, ordinance governing
vehicle window tinting.
[0018] The controller is also coupled to an ambient light sensor
316, an exterior ambient temperature sensor 318 and a vehicle
interior temperature sensor 320, which are useful in other
applications of the photo-electrochromic window tinter.
[0019] In a first embodiment, of the photo-electrochromic window
tinter 300, the controller 302 queries the GPS receiver 312 for
geographic coordinates, i.e., a location of where the vehicle is
located. The location of the tinter or a vehicle it is attached to
is provided to the controller in latitude and longitude
coordinates. The controller 302 thereafter queries the window
tinting rules database 314 to determine whether the current
location of the vehicle is inside of a jurisdiction where tinted
windows are prohibited, or if there is a tinted window opacity
specification, i.e., a rule or law that dictates the darkness or
degree to which a window tint passes light, which needs to be
complied with.
[0020] In a second embodiment, which is useful for all vehicles but
especially useful to electrically-powered vehicles, the controller
302 queries the ambient light sensor, ambient temperature sensor,
and/or the interior temperature sensor 320 to adjust the tinting on
the electrochromic device 200 to optimize interior temperatures
responsive to interior and exterior conditions.
[0021] FIG. 4 depicts a method 400 of adjusting a window tint
responsive to a geographic location. A method is performed by a
controller or computer such as the controller 302 depicted in FIG.
3 and described above.
[0022] At step 402, the controller obtains its current location
from a navigation system such as the GPS system 312 depicted in
FIG. 3. Once the location is obtained from the GPS, a database is
consulted at step 404 to determine or locate window tinting rules
that apply to where the vehicle is located. As used herein, a
window tinting rule is a statute or ordinance or other law or
regulation that defines the tint that can be applied to a vehicle
window including whether tinting is prohibited.
[0023] At step 406 the method first checks to determine whether a
manual tinting input command has been received by the controller
302 from a manual user interface 303. If a manual tinting
adjustment command has been received, the method proceeds to step
410 where the window tint is manually adjusted by the controller
providing an appropriate voltage to an electrically-adjustable
light transmitting device, such as the electrochromic device
depicted in FIG. 2. The method stays in a manual tinting mode at
step 412 until the user inputs a command to the user interface to
allow the system to resume an auto tint function whereupon the
method returns to step 402.
[0024] If no manual tinting adjustment command has been received at
step 406, the method proceeds to step 408 where the controller
issues appropriate electrical signals to the
electrically-adjustable light transmitter to comply with the
tinting rule obtained from the database at step 408. After the
tinting is adjusted to conform to any applicable rule, the method
returns to step 402. The method 400 of adjusting window tint thus
continuously checks where the vehicle is located and whether there
are any applicable tinting rules and adjusts the window tint
accordingly. The system 300 depicted in FIG. 3 has sensors that can
be monitored to determine how and when to adjust the opacity or
transmissivity of a window responsive to other external events or
conditions. The method depicted in FIG. 4 can thus include a step
of reading an ambient light sensor, an exterior ambient temperature
sensor or an interior temperature sensor and adjusting the window
tint electrically in order to provide a desired interior
temperature, or to reduce heating and cooling load on an electric
power source of an all-electric vehicle.
[0025] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an electrically-powered vehicle
500. The vehicle is considered to be "electrically-powered." The
vehicle 500 is comprised of an electric motor 502 powered by an
inverter 504. The inverter 504 provides power to the motor that it
receives from a battery, fuel cell or other source of electric
energy 506. Motive power from the electric motor 504 is delivered
through a drive shaft 508 to a differential 510, front-located or
rear-located, which is coupled to drive wheels 512.
[0026] Since the vehicle 500 is all-electric, cabin environment
conditions are also controlled using electric energy from the
energy storage system 506. Those of ordinary skill in the art will
recognize that large amounts of energy are required to provide heat
and to cool the interior of a vehicle. In an all-electric vehicle,
reducing the power required to provide heat or to drive a
refrigeration system is important.
[0027] In FIG. 5, a cabin environment controller 514 receives
signals 516 from the inverter 504 and the energy storage system 506
in order to determine the energy capacity remaining in the energy
storage system 506. The cabin environment controller 514 is also
coupled to an electrically-operated cabin air conditioner (A/C) 518
and to an electrically operated cabin heater 520 via a conventional
control bus 522. When the cabin interior temperature gets too high,
the cabin environment controller 514 sends a signal to the
electrically-driven air conditioner 518 to turn it on causing the
A/C 518 to draw electric energy from the energy storage system 506
in the process. Conversely, when the cabin interior temperature is
too low the environment controller 514 energizes electrically
resistive heating elements in the cabin heater 520, which also
draws power from the energy storage system 506.
[0028] An advantageous feature of the all-electric vehicle depicted
in FIG. 5 is the provision of the electrochromic window tinter 200
and the photo-electrochromic system 300 depicted in FIG. 3. When
interior cabin temperatures require the air conditioning system 518
to be energized, the cabin environment controller 514 issues
commands to either an electrochromic window tinter 200 itself, or
to a separate photo-electrochromic system 300, either of which
maximizes the window tinting opacity in order to minimize the
amount of infrared energy entering the vehicle from the Sun 112.
Similarly, when the cabin temperatures require heat to be added,
i.e., cabin heating is required, the cabin environment controller
514 issues commands to either an electrochromic window tinter 200
itself, or to a separate photo-electrochromic system 300, either of
which minimizes the window tinting opacity in order to maximize the
amount of infrared energy entering the vehicle from the Sun 112.
The electrochromic window tinter 200 can thus significantly reduce
the energy required from a battery or other limited power source in
an all electric vehicle.
[0029] In the embodiments described above the
electrically-adjustable light transmitter is an electrochromic
device as depicted in FIG. 2. Alternate embodiments can use other
electrically-actuated light transmissive materials such as PLZT,
which are able to turn opaque in less than 150 microseconds. Other
technologies that can be used with the apparatus and method
described above, and which are considered herein to be at least
functionally equivalent to an electrochromic device, include
suspended particle devices, liquid crystal, and reflective hydride
devices. The term, "electrically-adjustable light transmitter"
should therefore be construed to include an electrochromic device,
suspended particle devices, liquid crystal devices, reflective
hydride and PLZT.
[0030] The navigation system used in the preferred embodiment is a
global positioning system or GPS. Alternate embodiments can use
other navigation systems such as the GLONASS (Global Navigation
Satellite System) system or by the triangulation of received radio
frequency signals such as those broadcast from local cellular
towers.
[0031] The foregoing description is for purposes of illustration
only. The true scope of the invention is set forth in the
appurtenant claims.
* * * * *